Identification of air leaks in a compressed air system using a plurality of current measurement sensors

Abstract

An apparatus and method for identification of air leaks in a compressed air system are presented. The method includes receiving system data including current samples of air compressors of the compressed air system from at least one self-powered power sensor; aggregating the system data; dividing the aggregated system data into a plurality of clusters; merging overlapping clusters to reduce the number of clusters to two clusters, wherein a first cluster represents a baseload current and a second cluster represents a full-load current; determining the baseload current to full-load current ratio and comparing the ratio to a predetermined standard; and determining if an air leak is present if the ratio is below the predetermined standard.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for identification of air leaks in a compressed air system, comprising:
 receiving system data including current samples of air compressors of the compressed air system from at least one self-powered power sensor; 
 aggregating the system data; 
 dividing the aggregated system data into a plurality of clusters; 
 merging overlapping clusters to reduce the number of clusters to two clusters, wherein a first cluster represents a baseload current and a second cluster represents a full-load current; 
 determining the baseload current to full-load current ratio and comparing the ratio to a predetermined standard; and 
 determining if an air leak is present if the ratio is below the predetermined standard. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein aggregating the system data further comprises: extracting and averaging air compression current measurements. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 applying noise reduction to the plurality of clusters. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing a notification when an air leak is determined to be present. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein dividing the aggregated system data into the plurality of clusters further comprises: applying a gaussian mixture model (GMM). 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 performing a linear regression between the baseload current and corresponding time-stamps. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 determining if a trend of the linear regression is above a predetermined threshold. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 determining the air leak when a p-value of the linear regression trend is above a predetermined threshold. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 segmenting air pipes of the compressed air system into at least two segments if an air leak is determined to be present; 
 collecting current measurement samples for each segment over a predetermined period of time; and 
 determining, if the air leak is present, which segment contains the air leak. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 providing a notification of which segment contains the air leak. 
 
     
     
       11. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions for causing a processing circuitry to perform a process, the process comprising:
 receiving system data including current samples of air compressors of a compressed air system from at least one self-powered power sensor; 
 aggregating the system data; 
 dividing the aggregated system data into a plurality of clusters; 
 merging overlapping clusters to reduce the number of clusters to two clusters, wherein a first cluster represents a baseload current and a second cluster represents a full-load current; 
 determining the baseload current to full-load current ratio and comparing the ratio to a predetermined standard; and 
 determining if an air leak is present if the ratio is below the predetermined standard. 
 
     
     
       12. An apparatus for identification of air leaks in a compressed air system, comprising:
 a processing circuitry; and 
 a memory, the memory containing instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry, configure the apparatus to: 
 receive system data including current samples of air compressors of the compressed air system from at least one self-powered power sensor; 
 aggregate the system data; 
 divide the aggregated system data into a plurality of clusters; 
 merge overlapping clusters to reduce the number of clusters to two clusters, wherein a first cluster represents a baseload current and a second cluster represents a full-load current; 
 determine the baseload current to full-load current ratio and compare the ratio to a predetermined standard; and 
 determine if an air leak is present if the ratio is above the predetermined standard. 
 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to: extract and average air compression current measurements. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to:
 apply noise reduction to the plurality of clusters. 
 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to:
 provide a notification when an air leak is determined to be present. 
 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to:
 apply a gaussian mixture model (GMM) on the aggregated system data. 
 
     
     
       17. The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to:
 perform a linear regression between the baseload current and corresponding time-stamps. 
 
     
     
       18. The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to:
 determine if a trend of the linear regression is above a predetermined threshold. 
 
     
     
       19. The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to:
 determine the air leak when a p-value of the linear regression trend is above a predetermined threshold. 
 
     
     
       20. The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to:
 segment air pipes of the compressed air system into at least two segments if an air leak is determined to be present; 
 collect current measurement samples for each segment over a predetermined period of time; and 
 determine, if the air leak is present, which segment contains the air leak. 
 
     
     
       21. The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to:
 provide a notification of which segment contains the air leak.